Wednesday, December 30, 2015

Thursday:
• At 8:30 AM ET, initial weekly unemployment claims report will be released. The consensus is for 270 thousand initial claims, up from 267 thousand the previous week.

• At 9:45 AM, Chicago Purchasing Managers Index for December. The consensus is for a reading of 50.0, up from 48.7 in November.

The automakers will report December vehicle sales on Tuesday, January 5th. Sales in November were at 18.1 million on a seasonally adjusted annual rate basis (SAAR), and it possible sales in December will be over 18 million SAAR again.

Forecast 2016 production totals 18.2 million vehicles, including 17.7 million light vehicles and 490,000 medium- and heavy-duty trucks. The LV total is 1.2% above the estimated 17.44 million in 2015, while the big-truck volume is 4.9% under 2015’s estimated total of 515,000.

Total estimated vehicle output in 2015 of 17.96 million units is 1.1% above 2014’s 17.42 million and will topple the previous high of 17.66 million in 2000. LV volume this year will be a new record – beating 2000’s 17.16 million – while big-truck output will be a 9-year high.

2015 was a record year for light vehicle production in the US, and it looks like 2016 will be even better.